Joining a Gang (From Constructions of Deviance: Social Power, Context, and Interaction, P 489-511, 1994, Patricia A and Peter Adler, eds. -- See NCJ-151012)

• NCJ Number: 151029
• Author(s): M Sanchez-Jankowski
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 23 pages
• Sale Source: Wadsworth Publishing Co
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted from "Islands in the Street: Gangs and American Urban Society" (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991)

Annotation

The answer to the question of who joins a gang and why depends on the complex interplay between the individual's decision concerning what he or she wants and needs and the organization's decision as to what is best for it.

Abstract

Some researchers argue that people join gangs as part of the natural act of associating with each other. Other studies explain gang formation in terms of the subculture of blocked opportunities and in relation to problems associated with identity construction. The author contends that these studies are flawed and that gangs are composed of individuals who join for various reasons. Most youths in inner cities are faced with the decision of whether to start a gang or whether to join an existing one. Reasons for starting a new gang involve issues related to organizational development and decline, that is, the existing gang's ability to provide expected services. Those who join gangs usually believe that gangs will increase their chances of obtaining money. In addition, gangs provide individuals with entertainment, a place of refuge and camouflage, and physical protection. Some individuals join gangs because they see gang participation as a form of community commitment. Every gang has some type of recruitment strategy, and the decision to join gangs is determined by both individual and organizational needs. 19 notes